The following is a list of important dates in the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal:

2003

 June 30: Army Reserve Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski named commander of
all military prisons in Iraq.

 Aug. 31-Sept. 9: A team of counter-terrorism experts investigating prisoner
interrogations in Iraq concludes that although the prisons should provide a
"safe, secure and humane environment that supports the expeditious collection
of intelligence, it is essential that the guard force be actively engaged
in setting the conditions for successful exploitation of the internees."

 October: The 372nd Military Police Company ordered to guard Abu Ghraib
prison near Baghdad.

 Oct. 13-Nov. 6: A team of military police and legal and medical experts
reviews the prison system in Iraq; it concludes that there are possible manpower,
training and human rights problems that should be addressed immediately.

2003

 June 30: Army Reserve Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski named commander of
all military prisons in Iraq.

 Aug. 31-Sept. 9: A team of counter-terrorism experts investigating prisoner
interrogations in Iraq concludes that although the prisons should provide a
"safe, secure and humane environment that supports the expeditious collection
of intelligence, it is essential that the guard force be actively engaged
in setting the conditions for successful exploitation of the internees."

 October: The 372nd Military Police Company ordered to guard Abu Ghraib
prison near Baghdad.

 Oct. 13-Nov. 6: A team of military police and legal and medical experts
reviews the prison system in Iraq; it concludes that there are possible manpower,
training and human rights problems that should be addressed immediately.

2004

 Jan. 13: A Member of the 800th Military Police Brigade tells superiors
about prison abuses, and Pentagon officials are informed. Defense Secretary
Donald H. Rumsfeld is told a day or so later. Shortly afterward, Rumsfeld tells
Bush.

 March 3: Taguba's preliminary findings are presented to McKiernan; they
point to members of the 372nd Military Police Company and intelligence operatives
as the abusers.

 Jan. 13: A Member of the 800th Military Police Brigade tells superiors
about prison abuses, and Pentagon officials are informed. Defense Secretary
Donald H. Rumsfeld is told a day or so later. Shortly afterward, Rumsfeld tells
Bush.

 May 3: Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John W. Warner (R-Va.)
asks Pentagon officials to testify before his committee the next day.

 May 4: Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld says those responsible will
be brought to justice and widens investigations of prisons outside Iraq and
Afghanistan. National security advisor Condoleezza Rice tells the Arab world
that the abuses will be investigated and the perpetrators punished. Army officials
give Senate committee a private briefing.

 May 5: President Bush appears on two Arab television channels, saying
those responsible for the abuses will be brought to justice. Rumsfeld agrees
to testify before the Senate committee on May 7.